Actors wanted for local production of 'The Wiz'

Premier Centre for the Arts is looking for a few pint-sized actors—with any degree of experience—for its next fall production.

Christine Miller, Arts & Entertainment ReporterTwitter: @302Do

Premier Centre for the Arts will host auditions for its fall production of"The Wiz" next week at 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday. PCA Executive Director and theater instructor Nick Manerchia said that the cast calls for more than 35 parts as well as a large ensemble.

Prospective candidates should arrange 16 bars of music and be prepared to dance. A resume, headshot and any scheduling conflicts will also be needed at that time. However, Mancheria also said that singers, dancers and acrobats with any stage experience will be considered.

Director Fred Munzert agreed, adding that he's thrilled about staging this popular re-telling of the classic "Wizard of Oz."

"I'm excited to stage this urban version of "The Wizard of Oz" utilizing hip hop and acrobatics along with great gospel and R&B music," Munzert said.

The table read will be on Wednesday, Aug. 28. The first rehearsal is on Saturday, Aug. 31. The production will then stage 12 performances of the production from Friday, Oct. 11 through Sunday, Oct. 27.

The PCA version of the "The Wiz" is based on the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name that was later made into a feature film starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne and Richard Pryor among others. The characters are tweaked versions of the classic personalities by L. Frank Baum, including Dorothy, who is no longer an awkward Kansas teenager but is reinvented as a shy, Harlem, New York school teacher. The friends she famously met in Oz, which is set in a fantasy version of New York City, are still a major part of the story, including the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. All four band together, seeking an audience with the mysterious "Wiz," who is said to have the magical powers necessary to take Dorothy home.